Blind Swimmer

Chapter 24: Gratitude

Coach Hedge POV

"All right, Percy, are you ready?" I asked as I patted his wet shoulder.  

It was Percy's last heat of the day. We were at Regionals, which was a day-long competition. I was confident that Percy would finish strong.  

"Yes, Coach, I'm ready, this is the 200-meter freestyle. This is a 50-meter pool, so you'll only have to flip turn three times when you feel the water pressure on your back," I explained.

Percy nodded. He already knew all this information. 

"Okay then, go get 'em, Percy," I exclaimed boldly as I guided him towards his starting board. 

Percy's fingers traced the white starting board before he climbed on. His muscles flexed and strained as he got into diving position. He used his hands and feet to make sure that he was in line with his lane. 

I walked back towards the sideline. Chiron had come to watch the Regionals competition, and he was sitting on the front row of the stands. 

"Percy's going to finish strong," Chiron said. 

"Yes, he'll definitely qualify for States. He qualified last year, and (despite everything that he had gone through), he can show his skills at States this year as well," I said with pride. 

The gong sounded, and the swimmers dived into the pool. 

I watched as Percy initially glided in the water before his powerful strokes propelled him forward. 

It took months of training to prepare him for swimming this competitively. The hardest part was swimming straight and doing the flip turns, but Percy had adapted. 

Chiron and I were both incredibly proud. 

Many athletes and coaches around the state were messaging Goode High about how inspiring Percy was. And, they were right.

However, Percy also knew that he had a lot of help, and he always showed his gratitude towards his parents, friends, girlfriend, Chiron, and me. 

The crowd and teams cheered as the race ended. 

Percy finished first in his heat with a very competitive time. 

The next two hours passed by quickly. The awards ceremony happened first, and then, the state officials announced all of the swimmers from our region who qualified for States. 

Goode High will have three swimmers competing in States this year (Percy being one of them), which was an incredible achievement for our school. 

Chiron hugged Percy proudly after the awards ceremony and qualifications. 

It astonished me how close Percy and Chiron were as a student/teacher pair. In fact, Percy treated Chiron like a second father, which was an incredible bond. 

My attention caught on a conversation between Katie, Percy, and Chiron. 

"Percy, I wanted to say thank you for all of your help," Katie said. 

"For what, Katie?" Percy asked with a smile. 

"You helped me obtain the qualification for the Female States competition, and I'm so grateful," Katie said brightly. 

"Katie, you got here due to your hard work. This is on you," Percy said to his friend as he accepted her hug. 

"Yeah, but you also inspired me to do better," Katie expressed genuinely. 

I smiled. Percy inspired me to be a better Coach as well. He managed to soften me down enough to help him rise up. 

Chiron nodded as Percy laughed it off.